The company was established at the end of the World War I by Ugo Zagato, putting aircraft industry construction techniques to use in the expanding market for passenger vehicles. Zagato's cars were advanced in design and became synonymous with light weight and excellent aerodynamics.

Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia immediately realised the advantages of his rakish, streamlined designs. A collaboration followed which saw the creation of a series of legendary racing cars, such as the Alfa Romeo 1500, then the 1750 Gran Sport, and the 2300 8C.

After the World II, Zagato was very much active on this field of GT cars,a new racing category. Avant-garde styling, together with light weight and wind-cheating lines were main features of Zagato's models for the leading sports car manufacturers of that era - Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Abarth, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. In addition to the cars that were produced officially in small series, the company also built exclusive one-offs and prototypes for other illustrious marques, such as Ford, Jaguar, MG, Rover, Volvo, Bristol, and Rolls-Royce.

Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant went down in the history of Ukraine as a first-born of domestic combine-building, then it became the first company in the country, which mastered manufacturing of small class vehicles. The plant was growing, constructing, rising from the ruins, modernizing, re-profiling, retraining, but kept going forward, following the main course directed for manufacturing of high-quality domestic vehicle.

1863
The chronicle of Zaporizhia Automobile Building Plant started when the colonist
Abraham Koop, Dutchman by birth, established a company specialized in agricultural machines and equipment.

1908
Melitopol Engine Plant was established for manufacturing of stationary internal-combustion engines (today it is the structural subdivision of CJSC
"3A3").

1923
Zaporizhzhia Plant with "Kommunar" name started manufacturing grain combines and other agricultural machinery.

1959
Beginning of passenger cars manufacturing in Ukraine. Totally (from 1960 to 1994) there were 3,422,444
"Zaporozhets" vehicles manufactured in Zaporizhia and engines with air-cooling in Melitopol.

1988
Serial production of "Tavria" family passenger cars was started in Zaporizhia and manufacturing of engines with liquid cooling - in Melitopol.

1998
The Joint Ukrainian-Korean Venture with Foreign Investment in the form of a Closed Joint Stock Company
"AvtoZAZ-DAEWOO" was registered. Manufacturing of a new "Tavria-nova" car was started. Works on production preparation were completed and SKD assembly of the European level vehicles "Lanos", "Nubira", "Leganza" was started in Illichivsk Plant of Automobile Units (SSS "IPAU").

2003
The plant changed the form of ownership and became the Closed Joint Stock Company with Foreign Investment "Zaporizhzhia Automobile Building Plant".

2004
Significantly new production has been created in the company. Full-scale manufacturing of VAZ -21093 and VAZ-21099, "Lanos
(T-150)", "Opel Astra G" cars was started.

2005
"3A3" designers developed Lanos-pick-up car; production facilities of the SSS "IPAU" were prepared for manufacturing of "I-VAN" buses on the basis of "TATA" vehicle chassis.

Jugoslawien
1953 bis heute
Crvena Zastava (Rote Fahne) in Kragujevac
Zastava is a Serbian manufacturer based in the city of Kragujevac, 86 miles (138 km) southeast of Belgrade. The company began collaborating with Fiat in 1955 to assemble versions of its cars for Eastern European markets. The firm also manufactures military and sporting small arms, most of them based on Russian or German design; like the LKP-66 sporting rifle (based on the semiautomatic Russian SKS) the LKP-96 (based on the AK-47) and the LP M70 and M85 series (based on the German Mauser 98 bolt action.) The Zastava bolt-action rifles are sold in the USA by the firm of Charles Daly.

The company is best known for its locally built versions of the Fiat 128..

Rußland 1960 bis heute?
siehe auch SAS oder Luaz
Gebaut in der Stadt Saporoshje am Fluß Dnjepr
1863 The beginning of the chronicle of Zaporozhye automobile plant. The company grew out of four small plants of the German colonist J. Koop, which specialized in production of agricultural machines and equipment.
1921 The plant, restored after the Revolution and Civil war, restarted its operation under the name "Kommunar", and in three years began producing 24 types of agricultural machines.
1929 The first domestic grain combine is manufactured. Totally 129 724 combines were produced during 1930-41, 1947-52. Until
1959 The beginning of passenger car building in Ukraine. On June 18 of this year ZAZ-965 "Zaporozhets" pilot sample was produced,
and in a year its mass production was started...

The Ford Zephyr was a car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom. It was a larger saloon to complement the Ford Consul. The Zephyr and its luxury variant, the
Zephyr Zodiac which appeared in 1955, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 to 1971 before being replaced by a larger Ford Consul and Granada...

USA von 1950 bis heuteIn the 1950s Mr. Paul Zimmer (no relation to Art
Zimmer) started the Zimmer Manufacturing Company. The product
was manufactured housing, houses constructed in a factory. The
company grew and prospered. By the mid 1980's the company had
sales of over 325 million dollars, with 14 manufacturing
plants spread across the county and employed several thousand
employees. Zimmer homes were the top of the line, the most
expensive and highest quality of all manufactured homes.

In the late 1970s Zimmer manufacturing diversified into
several additional "fun" businesses. These divisions
included the manufacturing of luxury yachts, motor homes,
RV-recreational vehicles and van conversions. Each new Zimmer
product developed the reputation of being the highest quality
product available in the market.

Russland 1946 bis heute
ZIS = Zavod Imeni Stalina, ab '46
ZIL = Zavod Imeni Lichatschev ab '56ZIL = Zavod Imeni Likhacheva (Russian: Likhachev Factory) is a major Russian truck and heavy equipment manufacturer, which also produced armored cars for most Soviet leaders, as well as trucks, buses and tanks. The company also produces hand-built limousines and high-end luxury sedans in extremely low quantities, primarily for the Russian government. ZIL passenger cars are priced at the equivalent of models from Maybach and Rolls-Royce, but are largely unknown outside the CIS and production rarely exceeds a dozen cars per year.

Avtomobilnoe Moskovskoe Obshchestvo (AMO) was founded in 1916. The first truck was produced in 1924. In 1933 the factory changed its name to
Zavod Imeni Stalina (ZIS). After Stalin's death in 1956 they changed again to Zavod Imeni Likhacheva (ZIL).

The Ford Zephyr was a car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company in the United
Kingdom. It was a larger saloon to complement the Ford Consul. The Zephyr and
its luxury variant, the Zephyr Zodiac which appeared in 1955, were the
largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 to 1971 before being
replaced by a larger Ford Consul and Granada.

The Mk III range was made from 1962 until the completely new Zephyr/Zodiac
Mk IV was released in 1966. This car was a design that more resembles one of
the later Consul/Granada range with V-engines and individual rear suspension.

Deutschland von
1950 bis 1958 (Automobilbau)
ZÜNDAPP = "ZÜND"er und "APP"aratebau,
Nürnberg und München
Zündapp was a famous German motorcycle brand. The company was
originally founded in 1917 in Nuremberg by Fritz Neumeyer,
together with the Friedrich Krupp AG and the machine tool
manufacturer Thiel under the name "Zünder- und
Apparatebau GmbH" as a producer of detonators. In
1919, as the demand for weapons parts declined after World War
I, Neumeyer became the sole proprietor of the company and two
years later, he diversified into the construction of
motorcycles. The company folded in 1984...

see also AMPHICAR
The Amphicar was the only amphibious automobile ever
mass-produced for sale to the public. The German vehicle was
designed by Hanns Trippel, creator of the war-time Schwimmwagen
and manufactured by the Quandt Group at Lübeck and at
Berlin-Borsigwalde. Its name is a combination of
"amphibious" and "car".

The Zweckmobil T74 (1982)
The prototype had an Opel 1900 cc 4 cilinder and a limeded
slip differential. and two propellers for water propulsion.